* In "Inferno", the Doctor complains about the MirrorUniverse UNIT's scepticism about his TARDIS, by asking them if they expected "Batman at the controls". Also a TakeThat as, at the time, ''Series/{{Batman}}'' was what ITV were running against ''Doctor Who''.* In "Terror of the Autons", the Time Lord who comes to warn the Doctor about the Master appears dressed in a conventional English suit with a bowler hat and floating in a blue sky with no apparent means of support. The visual reference here is to Magritte.* Harry's disguise in "Robot" is a WholeCostumeReference to Steed in ''Series/TheAvengers''. Sarah Jane intentionally mixes up her pop culture when she sees him and compares him to... James Bond.* In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath The Robots of Death]]'', "Grimwade's Syndrome", a fear of robots, was named after production assistant (later to be both director and writer) Peter Grimwade, who hated to do robot stories. The story also had characters named Ander Poul[[note]]His first name is revealed in the sequel novel ''Corpse Marker''[[/note]], after SpeculativeFiction writer Creator/PoulAnderson, Uvanov (Creator/IsaacAsimov), and Taren Capel (Karel Capek).* "Destiny of the Daleks" shows the Doctor amusing himself by [[SnarkBait mocking]] a book by [[Literature/TheHitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy Oolon Colluphid]].* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E4Dragonfire Dragonfire]]'':** In this 1988 serial , the Doctor and a philosophically-minded guard debate the concept that "the semiotic thickness of a performed text varies according to the redundancy of its auxiliary performance codes." This is a direct quote from an academic media studies book entitled ''Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text'', and roughly translates into laymen's terms as "the less relevant an in-joke is to the plot, the more cultural significance it has."** Almost every character in that story was named after someone famous to film history.** To NorseMythology: During the Sylvester [=McCoy=] era, the Doctor battled the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowInTheGalaxy Gods of Ragnarok]] and the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E3TheCurseOfFenric Wolves of Fenric]].* Way back in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E2GhostLight Ghost Light]]'', the Doctor asked [[Creator/DouglasAdams "Who was it who said Earthmen never invited their ancestors to dinner?"]]* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]'' and ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E10TheDoctorDances The Doctor Dances]]'' seem to contain a Shout Out to ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' with Jack shagging Algy, since Jack and Algy (short for Algernon) are main characters in that play.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2005CSTheChristmasInvasion The Christmas Invasion]]'':** A reference to ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': "Not bad for a man in his jim-jams. Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man."** In the same episode, the Doctor entreats the Sycorax to leave the humans alone. He makes a heartwarming speech about how from the day they arrive on the planet, and blinking, step into the sun, there is more to be seen than can ever be seen... whereupon he remarks, "Wait, that's ''Disney/TheLionKing''."* In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]'', Anthony Head (who played Giles in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''), in clear BuffySpeak, calls K9 (a robot dog with a laser canon) a "Shooty Dog-thing". * ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet The Impossible Planet]]''/''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit The Satan Pit]]'' features a lot of use from the DoomDoors. Given that it involves [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} a gigantic demon possessing people and an archeology dig digging up said demon]], this is most likely intentional.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E12ArmyOfGhosts Army of Ghosts]]'' sees the Tenth Doctor donning a "triangulation kit" consisting of a power-pack and three TARDIS roundels; the finished getup resembles the Film/{{Ghostbusters}}' infamous Proton Pack. Cue a brief rendition of Ray Parker, Jr's classic theme tune.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode The Shakespeare Code]]'': New companion Martha remarks that the apparent witchcraft being done "all sounds a bit ''Literature/HarryPotter''", The Doctor enjoins her to wait till she reads the 7th book (which hadn't come out when the episode aired). Later, they and Shakespeare have to, on the fly, say the right words to banish the Carrionites:-->'''Shakespeare:''' Banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee... (''looks to the Doctor'')\\'''The Doctor:''' Uhh... (''looks to Martha'')\\'''Martha:''' Expelliarmus!\\'''The Doctor:''' Expelliarmus!\\'''Shakespeare:''' Expelliarmus! (''it works'')\\'''The Doctor:''' Good old J.K.!** This also doubles as ActorAllusion since the Tenth Doctor, Creator/DavidTennant, played Barty Crouch Jr. in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 42]]'':** This 2007 episode plays out in real time, à la ''Series/TwentyFour''.** The title, of course, is another ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' reference.** It's also the number of minutes in a New Who episode, so the former is probably a bonus.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature Human Nature]]'':** The Doctor's human alter-ego gives his parents' names as Sydney and Verity. Creator/SydneyNewman was one of the original creators of the show, and Creator/VerityLambert was its first producer... they could very well be considered the "mother and father" of ''Doctor Who''! This is reprised in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]], the 2009 Christmas special, with [[spoiler:a cameo appearance by one of Joan Redfern's descendants, who has written a book based on John Smith's journal under the name "Verity Newman"]].** Also, during the fast-forwarded part of the Doctor's instructions to Martha, David Tennant notes that he now has to [[Radio/JustAMinute talk for about a minute "without hesitation, deviation, or whatever the other thing is"]].* Some ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'' fans were quick to note that the ''Valiant'' from ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums The Sound of Drums]]'' looked a lot like Cloudbase. Or the ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} helicarrier from Creator/MarvelComics.* In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod Planet of the Ood]]'' where the saleswoman talks about the Ood's voice modifications one of them says "Do'h" in a way that sounds like [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]].* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'': [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} "I've gathered you all here in the Accusing Parlour..."]]** To say nothing of the number of Creator/AgathaChristie titles dropped into the dialogue ("Well, that's put the ''Cat Among The Pigeons''", "It's a trick, an illusion, ''They Do It with Mirrors''", "''The Moving Finger'' points to...", "''Why Didn't They Ask - Heavens!''")** WordOfGod is that the episode was inspired by the board game TabletopGame/{{Clue}} ("Cluedo" in the UK).--->'''Professor Peach:''' (''in the library'') I say! What are your doing with that lead piping?* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead Forest of the Dead]]'' has [[spoiler:Donna's two "children" called Josh and Ella. Josh is the name of Creator/StevenMoffat's son, with Ella being a friend of his]].* In the special ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]'', a character is infected by a single drop falling onto his eye. [[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater Remind you of anything?]]* In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour The Eleventh Hour]]'', The Doctor's rejection of one food after another is reminiscent of the scene in ''[[Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh]]'' in which Tigger says "Tiggers like honey/yuck, Tiggers don't like honey." It even sounds similar: "Oh, I love apples" -- *chomp* "Yech! I hate apples." It seems to fit the Doctor's personality as a bumbling, manic, impulsive genius.* During ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E2TheBeastBelow The Beast Below]]'', Amy runs around in her nightie and a dressing gown the whole time, a bit like a female version of [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Arthur Dent]]. Or a reference to Wendy from ''Literature/PeterPan''; a girl who runs off with the mysterious boy to another land in her nightgown the night before she has to "grow up".* The sequence in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E4TheTimeOfAngels The Time of Angels]]'' with [[spoiler:the Weeping Angel slowly emerging from the television screen in is quite possibly a reference to ''Literature/TheRing''.]]* The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeJ4Ak2xCkw Eleventh Doctor tells Amy]] he's like, "I dunno, [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]]! A [[RecycledINSPACE space Gandalf]]. Or the little green one in Franchise/StarWars, *lightsaber noise*"* Of course, the Cybermen and Borg have obvious similarities, but they made it even more obvious when a Cyberman said [[Franchise/StarTrek "YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED!"]] in the episode ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens The Pandorica Opens]]''.* The Doctor's OnlyMostlyDead quote in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang The Big Bang]]'' is a clear homage to ''Film/ThePrincessBride''.* WordOfGod has confirmed that the scenes of Amy and Rory running through the TARDIS [[spoiler:while it is possessed by House]] in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]'' are a "very intentional" reference to Creator/HarlanEllison's "Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream". [[http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/25715283482/i-just-watched-your-lovely-doctor-who-episode-the]]* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E11TheGodComplex The God Complex]]'':** The Doctor explains the configuration of a prison, [[Film/{{Cube}} with multiple rooms changing shape and form and new threats to face each time]]. Then he flicks up a Rubik's cube and comments "Well that's just rude."** Foreshadowing the hotel rooms, one character says [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Here comes a candle to light you to bed; here comes a chopper to chop off your head]]. It's more likely an allusion to a traditional nursery rhyme, Oranges and Lemons, which predates ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' by quite a few years.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks Asylum of the Daleks]]'' has a possible reference to ''Series/{{Coupling}}'' when Rory asks, "What colour?" because all the good questions were gone. Similarly, in "The Man with Two Legs", Patrick asks Jeff -- [[ItMakesSenseInContext who has fallen in love with a girl's leg]] -- "Left or right?" When Steve stares at him, he protests "It's a leg! What else is there to ask?" The others look shocked at him when he queries about the colour. It's possibly a reference to the backlash against the brightly coloured Paradigm Daleks in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks Victory of the Daleks]]''.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E7TheRingsOfAkhaten The Rings of Akhaten]]'' contains an array of new species. One of these seems to be a reference to {{Wrestling/CHIKARA}}, as not only are they called the Ultramanti (meaning the singular is Ultramantis), but there is a resemblence between them and one Wrestling/{{UltraMantis Black}}.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]'' has [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} a galaxy spanning human empire, with an emperor that they revere as a god, who is engaged in a Robot War and destroys entire planets if it means stopping the enemy.]]* In ''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]'', as the Doctors enter the TARDIS to return to the present day from the 1500s, the 11th Doctor says "Right then, Franchise/BackToTheFuture."* The climax of the next story (the Christmas Special), ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor The Time of the Doctor]]'', was also extremely reminiscent of the climax of ''Film/BackToTheFuture''.* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath Deep Breath]]'''s restaurant scene is similar to the ones in both ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' films: In Victorian London a highly intelligent, gorgeously-costumed girl meets an eccentric genius in a restaurant who proceeds to insult her (they make up later). Then, it turns out all the patrons were in on the bad guy's plot; they get up simultaneously and leave the girl to her fate (though Clara fares better than [[spoiler: Irene]]).* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E2IntoTheDalek Into The Dalek]]'' features a dark Shout-Out to ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' and/or ''Manga/CryingFreeman'' when Clara suggests that Danny Pink "shoots people and then cries about it."* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist Time Heist]]'':** In the "Making Of" featurette, Jenna mentions that this episode was inspired, at least in part, by ''Film/OceansEleven''.** The Doctor says that the Architect must be a time traveler because he could [[Film/BackToTheFuture find out exactly when a rare solar storm would hit]].** [[Film/DieHard The hacker opens all the locks to the vault except one, which is opened when an outside event cuts the juice.]]** Psi seems like a fusion of several 90s cyberpunk tropes: His memory powers recall Film/JohnnyMnemonic, and his stuttering is very reminiscent of Series/MaxHeadroom.** In an episode that heavily features psychic abilities and the threat of fire, the main antagonist is named [[{{Franchise/Pokemon}} Delphox]].** You've got an "Architect", someone who can change their face, a conversation about how impossible it is to [[ThoughtAversionFailure not think about something]], and the phrase "You'll be old and full of regret". [[Film/{{Inception}} Sound familiar?]]** Saibra is a mutant, whose powers allow her to assume another's personality and likeness via touch. However, this also dooms her to never being able to touch another living being as she can't shut the powers off. Tweak the powers a smidge, and give her a SkunkStripe, and you have Rogue of the Franchise/XMen.** Clara's outfit. It's a simple black and white suit with a thin black tie. Being worn for a bank heist. Still haven't put it together? She was wearing it for her date with a man who could easily be called... [[Film/ReservoirDogs Mr. Pink.]]* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline Flatline]]":** The registration on the train that's going to crush the TARDIS is [[Creator/PixarRegulars A113]].* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E10InTheForestOfTheNight In The Forest of the Night]]'':** Although it isn't seen that way in the episode, the angle from which the Trafalgar Square lion's head is seen in the episode's main publicity shot (see above) makes it look a lot like the face of ComicBook/SwampThing. Which is appropriate given the resemblance between the fairy-dust entities and "the Green" in ''Swamp Thing''.** The [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm Grimm's Fairy Tales]] of Literature/LittleRedRidingHood and Literature/HanselAndGretel get explicitly referenced with Maebh's red coat, the wolves wandering around the woods, and Maebh dropping items to make navigation around the forest easier. The Doctor even namechecks both fairy tales.* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater Dark Water]]":** When the Doctor shows his psychic paper to Dr. Chang in the Nethersphere, Chang sees the ID of [[ActorAllusion a government inspector who uses a lot of... colourful language]]...--->'''Dr. Chang''': Why is there [[Series/TheThickOfIt all this swearing?]]\\'''The Doctor''': Oh, I've got a lot of internalised anger.* The RunningGag of the Doctor replacing enemies' guns with bananas is a reference to the Creator/BusterKeaton film ''Film/TheHighSign'', where Keaton does the same thing to a policeman.* The New Series Master feels like a Shout Out to Caligula in ''Series/IClaudius''. He has a constant sound of drums in his head like Caligula has a sound of galloping in his head. Also the aged Doctor seems similar to Claudius who is mocked by Caligula. Suitable as in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]] the Master is TheCaligula. If you watch the two characters you really feel the similarity between the Creator/JohnSimm Master and Caligula. John Simm had already played Caligula and claims he partially based his performance on this.** Although, ironically, the Master's previous incarnation was played by [[Creator/DerekJacobi Claudius]].* River's relationship with the Doctor, a woman who falls in love with a time traveller and meets him in the wrong order throughout her life is a pretty obvious shout out to ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife''.** There's also a suspicion that Music/VanMorrison is getting a namecheck here: reference his ballad ''Crazy Love'' (and what sort of love could be crazier?)--->yeah I run to her, like a river song... she gives me love, love, love, love - crazy love! * The 2003 ''Series/DoctorWho'' webcast "Shada", based on a script by Douglas Adams, included a Nutrimat drinks machine and a Ford Prefect car (neither appearing in the original script), both references to ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''. The 2012 novelisation contains several more references, such as a reiteration of the famous digital watches joke, Chronotis switching out the book for "an Earth classic about space and thumbing lifts..." and a scene where the Doctor attempts to communicate with a man in ragged clothes and long hair whose first word is, for no apparent reason, "[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus It's...]]"* The title of the ''Doctor Who'' Expanded Universe novel ''The Taking of Chelsea 426'' is a double reference: first (and most obviously) to the movie ''[[{{Film/TheTakingOfPelhamOneTwoThree}} The Taking of Pelham 123]]'', and second to the planet [[Film/{{Aliens}} LV-426]].* ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' novel ''The Taking of Planet 5'' also homages ''Pelham 123''.* In the Christmas 2015 special, The Twelfth Doctor learns there's a horror movie called ''Film/{{Alien}}'', and thinks that's "''really'' offensive". [[Creator/JohnHurt The War Doctor]] [[ActorAllusion may have thought otherwise, however]].** Likewise with [[Film/{{Alien 3}} the Eighth Doctor]].----